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Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,   because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 (NIV) Count it all joy… James 1:2-3 (NKJV) What does it mean to “count it all joy?” To respond to difficulties with joy seems absurd. James knows this, and so in verse 3 he offers his answer to our natural question: Why should we rejoice in the face of trials? He doesn’t say if you face trials, but whenever you face them. He assumes that we will have trains and that it is possible to profit from them. The point is not to pretend to be happy when we face pain, but to have a positive outlook (“consider it pure joy”) because of what trials can produce in our lives. James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning. Tough times can teach use perseverance. Trials have a purifying quality; they are the arena in which and the process through which something good develops. Here in James is a...

    “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.    Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.     Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do .” Joshua 1:6-8 (NLT) Many people think that prosperity and success come from having power, influential personal contacts, and a relentless desire to get ahead. But the strategy for gaining prosperity that God taught Joshua goes against such criteria. He said that to succeed Joshua must:   (1) be strong and courageous because the task ahead would not be easy, (2) obey God's law, and (3) constantly read an...

  Your Promised Land God meant for His children to succeed. God stated unapologetically in Joshua 1:8 that conditions exist under which “then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” NASB. (Read Joshua 1:6-8) The only way we are going to impact the world and the next generation is to prove that our faith in Christ is real and that it works. The gap between our theology and our reality is so wide we’ve set ourselves up for ridicule. The sad part of it is that some of us are working pretty hard at something that is hardly working. Why do we spend so much time and energy on spiritual exercises with few effects while the rest of the world sleeps in on Sundays? Why are some of us getting up before dawn to have a quiet time with effects drained to the dregs by noon? Why are we running out of ink in our highlighters marking Scriptures that rarely jump off the page and onto the pavement? Why are we doing everything we can to convince others to do someth...

  Here are the links for any that you may have missed or want to see again. Click on the title and it will take you directly to that blog post… “ To Journal or Not to Journal ” – explores the benefits of Journaling; “ Verse Chaining vs. Verse Mapping ” - allows us to connect the verses together … connect the dots! So we don’t miss the beauty of the complete picture God has for us to discover. “ Digging Deeper ” - Reading the Bible in context is like zooming out and seeing the bigger picture … the surrounding facts ;   “ Memorizing Scripture ” – 7 Ways to Help You Memorize Scripture; “ Helping Your Child Memorize Scripture ” – 12 Tips to Help Your Child Memorize Scripture; “ Commentaries ” - Commentaries are a fantastic resource to use in order to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. “ Key Word Search ” - Doing a keyword search in my Bible or Bible app often helps me gain a deeper meaning of what God’s Word actually has to...

    Have ever wondered what the Bible has to say on a certain subject? Have you, like me, found yourself Googling “what does the Bible say about … ?” only to find multiple (and sometimes conflicting!) views on whatever subject may be at hand. Doing a keyword search in my Bible or Bible app often helps me gain a deeper meaning of what God’s Word actually has to say on a certain topic. I LOVE using BibleGateway.com to do keyword searches! I type in the word I want to study and what version of the Bible I want to use, and it pulls up the verses on that subject! Here below is what it looked like when I did a keyword search on faith . With over 507 results and the ability to view other translations, context, or the whole chapter, I found myself in awe of God’s Word and how it all fits together to speak straight into my life today!   I would like to challenge you to pick any small book of the Bible (or long passage that can be read in one sit...

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 But see first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be give to you as well. Matthew 6:33 Keep your relationship with God FRESH & VIBRANT! Following Him, brings purpose and meaning to our lives.

There are many super intelligent, highly-educated Biblical Scholars out there who’ve spent countless hours digging deeper into God’s Word and writing about it. Their fact-finding results and opinions are recorded in what we call  Commentaries.  Commentaries are a fantastic resource to use in order to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. Why do these matter? For me personally, I love gaining a deeper understanding of what God’s Word says, by reading what points brainy folks come up with … stuff that I wouldn’t see, without their help! Read Philippians 1:21 (or even the whole chapter), and ask yourself — what do  you   think it means? Pray over the verse and ask the Lord for wisdom in understanding. “For to me, to  live  is Christ and to  die  is gain.” (NIV) One caution: we shouldn’t rely merely on human opinions and it is wise to check multiple trusted commentaries. Here are a few great websites you can ...

The Success (the accomplishment of one's goals) Journey Having awareness of what's important - God, dreams, family, husband, children, finances, self-development, friends, ministry. Everyday we work out of the things that are important to us - these are our priorities - put people before things Choose your top 3 priorities & why they are important, then then what would you like to see in 20/30 years What will you do everyday, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly to increase areas of your life that are important to you - Be Realistic Start each day with prayer & scripture. Seek first the kingdom of God...do not worry - Matthew 6:33-34      Take The Lord as your business partner - Ps 32:8 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of our lives. Psalm 37:23 Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to The Lord & your plans will succeed Put activities on your calendar as commitment - IPA's, reconnect with customers. Open u...

  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, celebrating our country's Independence Day. This year my husband & I ventured out close to home to watch the local fireworks display. I wanted to test my skills for both Night Photography and Long Exposure. Thanks to Chuck Palmer's article in the Camera Club of Brevard's newsletter, I put his instructions to the test.   Here' what I got...      ISO - f16 - 18mm - 6sec   ISO - f16 - 18mm - 10 sec     ISO - f16 - 18mm - 10 sec ISO - f16 - 18mm - 6 sec   All of these images were captured on a tripod using my Nikon D7100 camera and my Sigma 18-250mm lens; I went totally manual with a Tungsten WB setting. I had my cable release but I forget to readjust the setting for this after I had turned the camera off :-( Next year, I'll be a little more prepare and a little more confident, with my cable release set to fire! Blessings,...

Here are 12 other tips for helping your child memorize scripture:  1. Take one phrase at a time and repeat it over and over with your child. Once he has mastered that phrase, move on to the next one, building on each one until he can say the entire verse.  2. Put a dry-erase board (or chalk board) in a high traffic area of your home and write the verse of the week on it. This will serve as a reminder to you and your child to keep reviewing it. Have the board within view of your dining room table so you can talk about it during meals. 3. Use a dry-erase marker to write the verse on your child’s mirror. 4. Write the verse on an index card and keep it in your car. Start the verse by saying the first word, then take turns with your child, each of you saying a word from the verse until you have said the whole verse.  5. Scramble the words of the verse on a piece of paper and have your child unscramble them, putting them in the c...

Independence Day is celebrated on 4th of July of each year in the USA and it is the celebration of the day the United Sates Of America's declared it's independence from the control, ownership, and abuse of Great Britain (United Kingdom/Britain/England).  In essence, it is when USA was born and declared it's freedom from control and ownership of Great Britain.  Independence Day is a federal holiday in the USA.  Independence day is often referred to as "July 4th", or "4th Of July", but those phrases are not substitute names, and reference the date the holiday is celebrated.  In current times, Independence Day is commonly celebrated with lighting of fireworks or electronic light shows, music, and outdoor activities (picnics and games), the display of the "American" flag (USA flag), and the display of the USA flag colors red, white and blue.    Blessings,    Cheryl